The present invention pertains generally to vehicle seats, and more particularly to a head restraint which minimizes a vehicle occupant's neck deflection during a rear impact event.
Occupants of motor vehicles have long suffered head, neck and spinal injuries during events such as rear vehicle impact or sudden deceleration. Typically, a vehicle head restraint is constructed with compressible foam surrounding a head restraint post. In a rear impact event, the occupant's head contacts the top of the vehicle head restraint with sufficient force to result in a significant deflection of the foam. The magnitude of neck deflection increases as the head further compresses the foam. Furthermore, because the foam is sufficiently resilient, the energy imparted to the foam by the occupant's head is mostly stored and not dissipated. As such, when the rear collision event has ended, the energy stored within the foam is released into the occupant's head which causes it to fling forward possibly causing further injury to the vehicle occupant.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a vehicle head restraint which includes a comfortable support surface during normal operation and a structure which limits the deflection of the occupant's neck during an event such as a rear impact collision. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a head restraint including components which are easily adaptable for use with existing head restraint posts and seat structures. It would also be advantageous to provide a head restraint for a seat which may be economically constructed.